Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Ehlenbeck's lifetime approval rate of 45% is currently 4 percentage points below the Atlanta North office average and 13 points below both the state and national averages. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 7,091 lifetime decisions, offering a clear view of his historical trends. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Ehlenbeck's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over his 4 years on the bench, Judge Ehlenbeck's approval rate has shown notable variation. After an initial 45% approval rate in 2016, the rate rose to 54% in 2017 before trending downward to 37% in 2019. This fluctuation across 7,091 lifetime decisions suggests that case outcomes may be sensitive to shifts in evidentiary quality or case complexity. The recent trend reflects a departure from his earlier, higher approval periods.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Ehlenbeck's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Ehlenbeck? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Atlanta North hearing office
The Atlanta North Hearing Office serves a large population of applicants across Georgia, managing a high volume of disability cases. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 49%. You can visit the Atlanta North Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your judge is selected randomly. Within the Atlanta North office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 22% to 62%. This diversity highlights why focusing on the strength of your own medical evidence is the most effective strategy. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.